All posts by She Seeks Serene

My Journey of Reimagining Life, Love and Education

National Geographic Traveller – June 2024

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National Geographic Traveller Magazine (May 2, 2024): The latest issue Explore 17 unique ways to get out and about in Paris as it celebrates its Olympic year with the June 2024 issue. Plus, take a look beyond the resorts of Phuket, go on a wild adventure in Albania and discover the long-flourishing desert community of Scottsdale, Arizona.

From sailing its scenic waterways to cooling off in open-air pools or stepping back in time on a historical walking tour, there’s no shortage of ways to enjoy Paris as it welcomes the warmer weather. One of Europe’s most majestic and storied capitals, with plans to turn it into one of continent’s greenest well underway, this is a city best explored outdoors.

Also inside this issue:

Phuket: Divine gastronomy and spirited religious festivals define Thailand’s largest island
Albania: Home to Europe’s first wild river national park, this adventure hub is the Balkans’ best-kept secret
Algeria: Slip into a landscape of ochre citadels, nomadic peoples and volcanic plateaus
Scottish Isles: Experience the nation’s wave-rattled northern and western fringes with these daring itineraries
Valletta: Whether on a church ceiling or in a subterranean necropolis, art can be found all over the Maltese capital
Scottsdale: This Arizona city’s past, present and future are bound to the mountains and the desert
Northern Lanzarote: Forget the beach resorts — this island’s northern reaches are ripe for adventure
Mumbai: In this vast city, a love of street food is as immovable as the streets themselves
Santiago: Hang behind in the Chilean capital to discover museums, street art and characterful hotels

The New York Times — Thursday, May 2, 2024

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Blinken Turns Up Pressure on Hamas to Accept Gaza Cease-Fire Deal

“The time is now,” Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken declared, urging Hamas to accept the terms of a proposed truce. He also made clear that he expected more from Israel.

Fed Holds Rates Steady, Noting Lack of Progress on Inflation

The Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged for a sixth straight meeting and suggested that rates would stay high for longer.

Arizona Lawmakers Repeal 1864 Abortion Ban, Creating Rift on the Right

Two Republican state senators broke with their party to ensure final passage of the repeal. Gov. Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, is expected to sign it on Thursday.

Arts/Books: Times Literary Supplement – May 3, 2024

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Times Literary Supplement (May 1, 2024): The latest issue features ‘Making it New’ – A.E. Stallings on the innovative classicism of Anne Carson’s poetry; Salman Rushdie’s memoir of survival; Politics and performance and more…

News: ‘Mass Killings’ In Darfur Feared, US-Japan-Australia Defense Talks

The Globalist (May 1, 2024): As war closes in on Darfur’s besieged capital, we get the latest on the conflict in Sudan.

Then: Japan, Australia, the US and the Philippines meet in Hawaii for defence talks, we hear the case for EU expansion and examine Georgia’s controversial foreign-agent bill. Plus: responsible tourism in Mallorca.

The New York Times — Wednesday, May 1, 2024

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Trump Jurors Hear How Seamy Hush-Money Deals Were Made

Keith Davidson, a lawyer for Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal, will resume testimony on Thursday.

Netanyahu Vows to Invade Rafah ‘With or Without’ Cease-Fire Deal

As mediators pressed for a truce and Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken toured the region, a ground incursion into the southern Gazan city loomed.

A Bystander to ’60s Protests, Biden Now Becomes a Target

For President Biden, the campus unrest over the Gaza war recalls peace protests of his youth. But this time he cannot easily bypass the turmoil.

Health & Nutrition Letter May 2024 Preview (Tufts)

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Tufts Health & Nutrition Letter (APRIL 30, 2024): The new issue features Vitamin Supplements – Yes, of No?; A large analysis clarifies the concerns about ultra-processed foods, and more….

Consuming Plant Protein in Midlife Can Help Women Age Well

Intake of Dietary Fiber Associated with Lower Risk of Death

Los Angeles Design: Tour Of A ‘Modern Bungalow’

The Local Project (April 30, 2024): For an architects own home, Mark Motonaga, homeowner and creative director at RIOS pulled together a range of design elements that makes his home feel safe yet joyous. Located in Los Angeles, Modern Bungalow was once an original single-family residence.

Video timeline: 00:00 – Introduction to the Architects Own Home 00:41 – The Original Vision 01:35 – A Walkthrough of the Home 02:22 – Designing Your Own Home 03:32 – Ideating the Backyard Landscape 04:12 – Proud Aspects

From the start of the project, the architect envisioned a modern home that could fit the scale of the original structure while reimagining what a bungalow could be. By creating a jungle-like refuge in the back of the house, RIOS has established a juxtaposition to living in a city.

To do this, the architect reversed the typical bungalow layout by putting the public spaces at the rear of the house and the private spaces to the front. Moreover, featured in the backyard is a pool, which is different to the traditional backyard pools often designed in the city.

Built to feel like people were swimming in a pond, it is complemented with a jungle-inspired garden that grows right up to the edge. At the beginning of the house tour, two large grey doors open up to a side courtyard referred to as the home’s foyer.

Previews: Country Life Magazine – May 1, 2024

Country Life Magazine (April 30, 2024): The latest issue features

Local distinctiveness

  • Kate Green and Agnes Stamp take a geological tour of our islands to dig out what makes them special; granite country, chalk downland, The Fens, Wealden clay, Welsh slate, Yorkshire mill-stone grit, The Highlands and Cotswold limestone
  • Matthew Rice sketches the myriad architectural styles
  • Mark Diacono rubs the soil between his fingers
  • Victoria Marston wraps her tongue around dialects
  • Harry Pearson downs a pint or three of local ale
  • And finally, the ultimate quiz

Et in Arcadia ego

For Constable, the countryside was a lover, for Samuel Palmer, it offered an escape from the real world and for Paul Nash it held an inescapable lure. Michael Prodger examines the effect of British landscapes on art

The Duchess of Marlborough’s favourite painting

The ceramicist chooses an evocation of her childhood

Let us now praise the Nanny State

We should embrace Mary Poppins-esque common sense, believes Carla Carlisle

The legacy

Kate Green salutes the 10th Duke of Beaufort on the eve of the Badminton Horse Trials that set British riders on their gallop to three-day-eventing victory

Cometh the ice men

Don’t cast those jumpers out just yet, advises Lia Leendertz

Interiors

Get ready for the warmer weather with Amelia Thorpe’s pick of outdoor furniture

London Life

  • Royal photographs
  • All you need to know about cloth, cheese and Trafalgar Square
  • Jack Watkins tells the tale of Covent Garden
  • Adam Hay-Nicholls relishes the roar of engines in Savile Row

Up hill and down dale

Kathryn Bradley-Hole finds that formality is leavened by verve and personality in the gardens of Dalemain at Penrith, Cumbria, where the blue poppies bloom

Kitchen garden cook

Melanie Johnson gathers bunches of fresh watercress

Native herbs

Unmistakeable in scent, versatile in use, wild garlic is a forager’s dream, but don’t let dairy cows graze it, warns Ian Morton

Travel

  • Mark Hedges escapes to our nearest paradise, the Isles of Scilly
  • Tom Parker Bowles feasts on a proper club sandwich
  • Pamela Goodman dares to swim the Dordogne

The good stuff

Hetty Lintell takes her time choosing the latest wonderful watches unveiled in Geneva

News: Hamas Delegation In Cairo For Ceasefire Talks, Greece ‘Iron Dome’

The Globalist (April 30, 2024): Egypt and Qatar flex their mediator muscles as a Hamas delegation arrives in Cairo for ceasefire talks, Greece pledges €2bn to build its own ‘Iron Dome’, Germany’s far-right is on trial and we hear about the continuation of Ukraine’s global relief programme despite the ongoing war.

Plus: newspapers, aviation news and Madonnamania takes over Brazil.

The New York Times — Tuesday, April 30, 2024

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Even With Gaza Under Siege, Some Are Imagining Its Reconstruction

International development agencies have been meeting with Middle East business interests and urban planners to map out an economic future for the territory.

Hope Rises for New Talks on Gaza Cease-fire as Israel Scales Back Demands

Israel reduced the initial number of hostages it wants released to 33. If Hamas agrees to attend, negotiations on a cease-fire could resume in Cairo this week.

8 Officers Are Shot, 4 Fatally, While Serving Warrant in Charlotte

Three of the four were part of a U.S. Marshals task force. The felon whom they sought was also killed.

College Protests Over Gaza Deepen Democratic Rifts

Scenes of chaos unfolding on campuses across the country are stoking internal divisions and carry political risk as a major election year unfolds.